Klein Tools - what's your opinion?

[330Scott]

With all the talk about the different tool manufacturers, domestic & Asian, Klein Tools doesn't seem to come up very often.

So let's give Klein their due. Basically all I know about them is that they are still run by the Klein family & last I knew were traded on the NYSE. From their website I see that they have a few American manufacturing facilities, but I didn't dig deep enough to see if they are having any of their product line manufactured overseas.

What do you know about Klein Tools?

 

[rickairmedic]

I know they make some of the best lectrical tools money can buy course I also like greenlee for doin lectrical


Rick

 

[kartracer55]

As far as Klein the company, they have been around since 1851(about)... they know what they are doing. They Fill a certain niche. They are marketed towards technicians and electricians... you wont see too many mechanics with Klein tools, but you wont see to many electricians with Snap ons. Know what I mean?

Klein Tools are great. I have a Pair of Klein Bell System Needle nose and they are awesome. I also have a few other various styles from klien. Most of them are small, meant for lighter electrical work, although klein does make some pretty serious tools for Bigger jobs. You cant really go wrong with klein.. They make sockets... are they GREAT? no, but they are all an electrician would need... maybe they wouldnt crack it in the automotive field, but most mechanics hand tools are overkill. On the otherhand, Klein really knows what they are doing when it comes to things like nut drivers... I think they were the first to come out with hollowshaft nutdrivers for driving nuts down a long set of threads.

Jim

 

[Cebby]

I swear by the Klein No. 1001 for automotive electrical work (in a past life I worked at a car stereo shop doing alarms)

 

[XR7G428]

These are great tools and great people. What to know more about the company? Call'em up and ask for Mr. Klein. I am trying hard to get a couple of my customers to switch to Klein. The reason, good tools equal fewer call backs, and fewer warranty claims for us. There is nothing like working with the guy whose name is on the building to get things done. The Klein family works this business every day. If you do electrical work, or car audio like I do, there are no better tools.

 

[Luckydevil]

I've got some friends that do electrical systems engineering/building at Honeywell and they all swear by Klein stuff.

 

[79rallysport]

I love klein tools. The BEST needle nose, dykes, linesman, wire strippers money can buy IMHO. Their nut drivers, and screwdrivers are also excellent quality. I only wish they made some stork needle nose and extended dykes like snap-on does.

 

[bmwpower]

Ask the guys working on the electrical pole which tools they trust. Chances are they use Klein.

As someone said earlier, Klein = Snap-on of the electrical tool world.

 

[Luckydevil]

found an online vendor for them... http://www.jimslimstools.com/SearchResult.aspx?KeyWords=klein

 

[logical]

There are sometimes good deals on ebay on Klein tols too. For electrical stuff they are hard to beat.

 

[kartracer55]

Most electrical supply places carry Klein. Sometimes you can get AWESOME prices on them from the wholesale types of places.

Jim

 

[bmwpower]

I actually got all my Klein stuff on eBay. Home Depot has them, too. Some things are better had at Home Depot due to shipping, etc.

 

[kartracer55]

Yeah, I forgot about them! Now that I think about it, They have a pretty large selection.

Edit* But they dont have them in the tool area, Its Over in Electrical, in all the HD's Ive been in.


Jim

 

[bmwpower]

Yeah, I forgot about them! Now that I think about it, They have a pretty large selection.

Edit* But they dont have them in the tool area, Its Over in Electrical, in all the HD's Ive been in.


Jim

Yea and in most stores...the expensive stuff is all locked up. So you have to get a Home Depot reject to unlock it for you...

 

[bmwpower]

I think I got my large gauge cable cutter there since the thing is so heavy. Shipping was expensive, so I bought it at HD.

 

[dink]

You can not go wrong with Klein....along with great product excellent customer service

 

[l_bilyk]

My oldman is an electrician... he loves his klein linesmans, cable cutters, and various screwdrivers/nut drivers. I think they make excellent tools

 

[Fast Orange]

As an electrician with 15 years of experience,Klien is the brand of choice for electrical work.Thier screwdrivers,nutdrivers,pliers and cutters can't be beat for this type of work.
Although not meant for "live" work,all of thier tool handles ,when in good condition and clean/dry,do provide better electrical insulation than the handles on Snap-On,Craftsman and the rest.The design of the diagonal cutters in thier line is more compact and stronger than the others I've tried.Screwdriver tips stay sharper and last longer than the others also.
I personally prefer Channel-lock groove joint pliers over the Kliens,as I feel the teeth on the jaws last longer.
George

 

[dink]

As an electrician with 15 years of experience,Klien is the brand of choice for electrical work.Thier screwdrivers,nutdrivers,pliers and cutters can't be beat for this type of work.
Although not meant for "live" work,all of thier tool handles ,when in good condition and clean/dry,do provide better electrical insulation than the handles on Snap-On,Craftsman and the rest.The design of the diagonal cutters in thier line is more compact and stronger than the others I've tried.Screwdriver tips stay sharper and last longer than the others also.
I personally prefer Channel-lock groove joint pliers over the Kliens,as I feel the teeth on the jaws last longer.
George

I probably wouldnt use anything but a full insulated driver when dealing with hot issues.....

 

[Fast Orange]

For the additional cost,and the added bulk of the insulated tools,I prefer to use the standard type,but keep the hot work to a minimum,and wear proper gloves when doing so. A perfect example of the need to do live work is changing c/b in an office building when the panels aren't marked and too many computers,etc would have to be shut down to kill the entire panel.To get the job done,ya gotta do what ya gotta do-tape up the shank on the driver,give yourself some working room,wear the right gloves,work carefully and just do it.
Too often,the screwdrivers with the full insulation just wont fit into the screw terminal area,so what are you gonna do?
I don't like working live,and I don't encourage anyone else to do so.

George

 

[Elroy]

In my opinion Klien makes the BEST screw drivers on the market. Their side cutters are top notch as well. Their "cable" cutters are made in Japan and you won't find any other brand made better. And their tools WORK. Good stuff.

 

[jonkav]

Side question--why is the tool "****" called such?

 

[Roadster]

Side question--why is the tool "****" called such?

"Dikes" or "pair of dikes" is short for "DIagonal Cutters".

 

[XR7G428]

Not Dikes....

I was doing a disco install back in the '80's. While working in the dark under a mixing table stripping speaker wire and making connections to several amplifiers, I asked my helper "hey, you seen that pair of dikes?" first thing I knew I was being dragged out from under the mixer. Almost got my *** beat by the very gay disco owner and his "partner". He thought I was making a derogatory remark. Been calling them side cutters ever since.

 

[kartracer55]

I was doing a disco install back in the '80's. While working in the dark under a mixing table stripping speaker wire and making connections to several amplifiers, I asked my helper "hey, you seen that pair of dikes?" first thing I knew I was being dragged out from under the mixer. Almost got my *** beat by the very gay disco owner and his "partner". He thought I was making a derogatory remark. Been calling them side cutters ever since.

Ahahahahahahhaa thats the funniest thing Ive heard all day lol. Talk about a mis-understanding.

Jim

 

[eschoendorff]

"Dikes" or "pair of dikes" is short for "DIagonal Cutters".

I did not know that... but always wondered...

 

[kartracer55]

yeah I always called them wire cutters, I had never heard the term "diagnal cutting pliers" or dykes before (well, at least used in the context of pliers lol) Until I took autos 1.


Jim

 

[Elroy]

Suppose you never heard a screw driver called a "turning iron".

 

[sberry]

Side cutters and diagonals are different tools. I use Klein screwdrivers and nut drivers almost exclusively. They are the best and priced right.

 

[Merkava_4]

My opinion of Klein is that they make a very high quality tool; definitely one of my most favorite tool makers; however, I limit my purchases of their products to their pliers and screwdrivers only.

 

[wilbilt]

I have used lots of Klein tools in various endeavors. Given my lineage, it's a wonder I did not become an electrician.

My opinion - they are good tools, and apparently still mostly US-made. Their screwdrivers have a huge following, but IMHO are not the best bet for greasy work.

Klein pliers are quite a bit "rougher" than Channellocks, but at the end of the day, the job got done.

Klein tools can be purchased direct. If you join the Tradesman Club, you can purchase online through the "Klein Connection". They will even send you a printed catalog.

 

[helgrind]

I've been doing electrical stuff for a few years now (got out of working on autos) and personally - I hate klein stuff. Maybe I get bad batches of their tools but I've noticed that their screwdrivers (spec. phillips) wear out too freekin' fast and the dykes **** too. Linesman's are ok but whatever. I have Craftsman screwdrivers (snappy's stay at home) on my toolbelt along with knipex pliers. Ideal makes good wire strippers.

 

[Franz©]

Re: Not Dikes....

I was doing a disco install back in the '80's. While working in the dark under a mixing table stripping speaker wire and making connections to several amplifiers, I asked my helper "hey, you seen that pair of dikes?" first thing I knew I was being dragged out from under the mixer. Almost got my *** beat by the very gay disco owner and his "partner". He thought I was making a derogatory remark. Been calling them side cutters ever since.

I'll see that and raise you gettin thrown down 3 flites of stairs by the DieselDyke for hittin on the office girls at Skyline Cab in 1966. How the hell was I suposed to know the damn place was full of lesbos? The thing that really hurt was when she heaved my toolbox after me, followed by my boss.
Ol Harold grabbed a hickey from the truck and guarded as I crawled back up them stairs putting tools back in the box.

 

[seattlemart]

Needed some cutters and got these http://www.drillspot.com/products/74257/klein_tools_d220-7ins_heavy_duty_diagonal_cutter for $20 used at a local shop. Fully insulated and rated at 1000v. Guy said these will last the rest of my life.

 

[kbbrett]

I think Klein makes some very nice stuff. I have a few of their pieces and they are great quality
That being said, I have an interesting Klein story to share. When I was in high school , I got a job working for glass shop. I had no expereince, but was willing to learn,so I worked with different guys every day. Well, this one guy I'll call "Bill" to protect the innocent ,scared me a little bit. He was always moody, never showered and not real friendly. Anyways, I was stuck with him for a couple days, and we stopped at his house briefly , I forget why, but the place was a dive.The whole interior was un finished and just filth. He had farm aninamls running around everywhere, and I was appalled. I couldn't imagine why anyone would live this way.
It was some time later that I learned that he chose this life style, not because he couldn't affored a better life, nope Mr Klein wanted to keep it simple. To this day I still can't belive it, you just never would have had any idea who his family was, and obviously he wanted it that way.

 

[boiler7904]

Most of my electrical tools are Kleins. Klein makes some wrenches, ratchets, sockets, etc. but they are mostly concentrated on tools and storage for the electrical industry. At one time, they were a sponsor of Andretti Green Racing in the IRL series. Wonder if they actually used Klein Tools?

As a side note, my mom's maiden name is Klein but it's a different family. Damn.

 

[eschoendorff]

Ideal makes good wire strippers.

Agreed. I reach for my Ideal strippers before my Kleins all the time.

 

[VDubJoe]

Ive been a lineman for 24 years. We use nothing but Klein stuff. Very tough and last forever unless you try to weld with them which i did on a 7200 volt line . Not pretty.

Joe

 

[gotmud13613]

I was at our local True Value store the other day they have a table in the front with clearence stuff, I seen a pair of Klein slip-joint pliers and then noticed they were hose clamp pliers, Regular $14 marked down to $4.

I did not have a pair like this so I just grabbed them, when I got home and took the price stickers off the handle, Guess where it was made "Japan" , And there website states " Proudly made by american workers for professional tradesmen since 1857 "

Must be this pair of pliers slipped by them !!!

 

[unsung]

Agreed. I reach for my Ideal strippers before my Kleins all the time.

Wait until that nut seizes up and you can't open them anymore. I have had at least six pairs of Ideals do that.

I'll only buy Klein hand tools for electrical work. I started in residential as a electrician, and I have done over 1000 houses. Moved on to commercial and I am now in the nuclear division. I have to turn a lot of screws and there is not a better screwdriver made for keeping an edge and being cut true each time. Also as an electrician if you don't have a pair of 9" linemans made by Klein it is similar to an accountant not using a calculator.

I personally don't like many Ideal or Greenlee hand tools. I think Ideal has good ratcheting cable cutters, and Greenlee makes the best knockout sets. But for hand tools I choose Klein.